Chapter 67: Truth Behind the Shadows

The atmosphere inside the café fell into a heavy quiet. Fiona, standing behind the counter, looked visibly tense as she meticulously wiped down a glass that didn’t even need cleaning. "Fuuuh!" Irena blew another stream of smoke upward, while Selma proceeded to light her cigarette.

Mary kept her eyes locked on Irena’s face, scrutinizing her intently to see if there was anything hidden behind that icy composure. Finding no clues on Irena’s calm expression, Mary narrowed her eyes, her posture growing twice as serious as before.

"So you’re asking me to go to Utopia to fetch them and bring them back here, but before that, who is this General Heindrich you just mentioned? Please tell us everything. You’re clearly still hiding something from us," Mary demanded.

Irena remained quiet for a moment. She stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray on the table, then picked up her cup and took a sip of her coffee. Clink. Irena placed the cup back onto the saucer. She looked at Mary and Selma, who were both staring right back at her, before letting her expression soften, signaling that she trusted them.

"Alright, I’ll explain the details to you," Irena said.

Irena retrieved a tablet from inside her long coat, set it on the table, and pressed play on the screen. She slid the tablet across the table toward Mary and Selma. Upon seeing the footage, Mary’s and Selma’s eyes went wide, their mouths agape, Selma’s cigarette even slipped from her lips and fell onto the table. Displayed on the screen was Clyde carrying Celes, along with Craig, Casca, and Corie entering a mech cockpit inside a hangar.

Shortly after, the gigantic robot, resembling a world-ending machine of destruction, showed signs of life, its eyes igniting as white steam vented from its joints. Then, the massive mech blasted skyward, and the video ended. Irena swiped the screen, revealing a second clip of the same giant robot battling a colossal monster and consuming it. Slowly, Mary raised her head to stare at Irena, her face pale as a sheet.

"Is this... actually real?" Mary asked, voicing the exact question on her mind.

"Of course. The first recording was taken surreptitiously inside a classified hangar in Sector Zero. The second was filmed by Lieutenant Bradley of New Leviathan. General Heindrich forwarded both videos to me through a secure, encrypted channel," Irena answered.

"An encrypted channel? Now I’m really confused. Who exactly is General Heindrich?" Selma asked.

"He is the leader of the GDAB and the governor of New Leviathan. He’s responsible for the city of New Leviathan and its entire military force," Irena answered.

"Then why did he send it through a secret channel? Is he hiding something? Or are you hiding something?" Selma pressed suspiciously.

"General Heindrich did not send these videos on behalf of the GDAB or New Leviathan. He sent them to me personally because I am his direct subordinate and share his vision, to save those children," Irena answered.

Hearing Irena’s words, Selma and Mary fell silent, exchanging glances before Mary turned her gaze back to Irena.

"So the general wants to save Clyde and his siblings... but why? Doesn’t he want to use them as weapons?" Mary asked, bewildered.

Irena paused briefly, taking another sip of her coffee before drawing a fresh cigarette and lighting it. But as she looked back at Mary and Selma, her expression grew stern, her smile completely vanishing.

"Because the general knows those children personally. When he was five years old, he played with them when his parents brought him to the facility," Irena answered.

"Huh... really?" Mary asked.

"It’s true. He even showed me a worn, old photograph. In truth, he wants to save them because the GDAB, feeling a sense of ownership over their creation, wants to claim them, even after officially declaring them failed products to the world. As the leader of the GDAB, the general cannot move openly. That’s why he dispatched two operatives to Utopia to search for them and asked me to fetch them. Do you see the difference now?" Irena asked.

"Hmm... in that case... do you already know where they are?" Mary asked.

Irena swiped the tablet on the table to display a map, showing a small Utopian town nestled at the foot of a mountain, along with a mansion or villa resting higher up the peak. There, vaguely visible, lay a giant robot lying flat behind the mansion, obscured beneath the dense tree canopy. Mary and Selma fixed their eyes on the small town at the mountain’s base.

"So they’re in this town," Selma pointed out, referencing the settlement.

"Not necessarily, but if their mech is parked on that hill looking like a new mound, chances are high they’re in that town," Irena replied, gesturing at the tablet from across the table.

"I see... but they went over there looking for their sibling, right?" Mary asked.

"You don’t need to worry about that, they’ve already found her. If they hadn’t, that giant robot wouldn’t have been able to activate in the first place," Irena answered.

Selma and Mary said nothing, staring intently at the satellite image of the town displayed on the tablet screen. "Fuuuh!" Irena exhaled a cloud of smoke and leaned back in her seat.

"We need to move quickly. At the moment, the Utopian government is unaware of their presence. Neo Ark has already dispatched Janet and Ryker over there, though I suspect they’ll head straight for the capital. New Leviathan also sent operatives, but the general deliberately directed them to a small coastal town quite far from the mountain base... And then there’s this."

Irena swiped the tablet again, presenting the screen to Mary and Selma. Gasp. Both women gasped in shock at the satellite photo: a heavily armed force of giants accompanied by massive Behemoth tanks, which appeared colossal even from a satellite perspective, with nearby craters looking like mere tree puddles in comparison.

"The Nephilim are hunting them too," Mary said.

"Precisely. That’s why we have to move now. I will go with you to explain everything to them," Irena replied.

"Won’t that cause trouble with Neo Ark if you just up and leave, Colonel?" Selma asked.

"No... Neo Ark has likely already figured out that I betrayed them. A few days ago, I used my access to leak the blueprints for their GEAR project and took photos inside their secret hangar. I knew cameras were watching me, so my cover is probably blown by now," Irena answered.

"What if the Utopian government finds out?" Mary asked.

"They will either brand them as threats or try to draft them. So what do you say? Are you two willing to go?" Irena asked.

"Huh... me too?" Selma asked.

"Of course. To convince them, I need people they know and trust, for a noble cause, naturally," Irena answered.

Selma and Mary turned to face each other, silently communicating with a shared look. Moments later, Mary turned back to Irena, her face no longer showing a trace of suspicion, but rather a fire of determination.

"Alright, Colonel. We leave today. Just give Selma and me a moment to pack and prepare," Mary said.

"Understood. And please, just call me Irena. There’s no need for ranks, right now, I’m just an ordinary civilian," Irena replied.

They finished their coffee and sat in quiet reflection for a moment before Irena let out a soft sigh.

"Let’s just hope they don’t stir up trouble that draws the Utopian government’s attention before we arrive," Irena said.

"Yeah, absolutely. I hope so too," Selma added.

***

Meanwhile, in the town at the foot of the mountain, "tap," Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie stood outside a ten-story building in the center of town, tilting their heads upward to gaze at the tall structure before them.

"So this building is that Silas Ward guy’s hideout?" Corie asked.

"From all the asking around we did and looking up his profile online, everything points directly to this building. So this is definitely his office and headquarters," Clyde answered.

"So what are we doing here? Talking? And if we talk, are we using our fists or our mouths?" Craig asked.

"We’re definitely talking, but not in our normal forms," Casca said.

"Ooh... you want to use Combat Mode?" Celes asked.

"Yep... since this Silas character seems to be a man of influence, it’s best if we wear masks this time so our true identities aren’t revealed," Casca answered.

"Alright... enough talking. Everyone, transform," Clyde commanded.

Flash!

A blinding light suddenly burst in front of the building’s entrance, drawing the security guards toward the perimeter fence. When the light faded, the guards gasped in shock, turning pale as death, because the locked gate burst off its hinges and rocketed straight toward them.

As the guards scrambled out of the way, five glowing red eyes peered through the settling smoke behind the flying gate as five figures stepped inside. A security guard narrowed his eyes and, "gasp!" watched as Clyde, Celes, Craig, Casca, and Corie stepped out from behind the smoke in their terrifyingly intimidating combat mode forms.